The Wrath of Topaz
by Starcharter-75
Summary: An old flame of the Crystal Gems seeks vengeance. Rated T for violence.
1. Six Weeks

It had been six weeks. Six weeks of a never-ending aching in the pit of his stomach, forty-two days of emotional nothingness, and one-and-a-half months of absolute loneliness. For six weeks, Steven had felt nothing, experienced nothing, and lived without rhyme or reason to live, and he thought of these things as he walked through the bright Beach City one summer day, knowing that he could not live in this city any longer; it held too many memories.

First, he passed the Big Donut. Looking up at it, he thought of days past when he could have come and gone, Cookie Cat in hand, and enjoy the sheer deliciousness of the beloved cat from outer space, the refuge of an interstellar war. He further imagined how Sadie and Lars might react if he walked in now, with the city's knowledge of what had happened; even Lars might have given an encouraging compliment. But no, Cookie Cats had been driven out of business months earlier, and Steven knew he couldn't keep a straight face among all the nostalgia, so he moved on. Next, he passed the Beach Citywalk Fries. Steven managed a smile as the taste of French-fry bits returned to his taste buds, and his mind's eye recalled times when he and Amethyst had shared such bits together, chatting as the glimmering sunset shone over the city. But Steven knew that he would likely sob if he ever ate those bits again; once again, he moved on.

Then, Steven passed the Crystal Temple. As he passed, his mind was flooded with memories of the Crystal Gems. From gauntlets, a Gem-laced whip, a white glaive, and an oval shield, to a Laser Light Cannon, a short-circuiting freezer, a Sea Spire, and a novelty backpack in the shape of a cheeseburger; they all seized his mind's eye and his emotions. Steven bent his head down in sadness, knowing that the Gems would come here no more. Just as he had done many times over the past six weeks, he reminisced on those fateful events that had happen, 42 days ago.


	2. Just An Ordinary Day

It had begun as just an ordinary day; the ever-vigilant Crystal Gems went about the Crystal Temple, waiting to protect the universe should its safety be threatened. However, at this moment one and one-half months ago, there was no threat to the universe, so the Gems simply traveled around the house doing various things. Garnet was off burning an evil relic; this relic had a pentagonal shape, was colored a light tan, and contained several unreadable characters on it. She had walked past Steven earlier in the morning while he was eating breakfast, and Steven asked what she was doing.

"I am going to burn this," she had responded in her usual stoic behavior. She held up the relic to show Steven who, on impulse, quickly took out a disposable camera and went to take a picture; Garnet grabbed the camera before Steven could take a picture of it, though the camera remained in his hands. "I may need to burn this, too," she warned. She loosened her grip on the camera, but did not move her arm. Steven, remembering what had happened the last time he had taken a picture of an evil relic, quickly put the camera down; Garnet put her arm down and went into the Crystal Temple. Elsewhere, Pearl and Amethyst were arguing with each other; one of Pearl's swords had fallen down her waterfall into Amethyst's room, but this was unknown to Pearl, who naturally accused Amethyst of taking it.

"I don't know, Pearl, maybe it got bored being in your collection and made a run for it," Amethyst said jokingly.

"Oh please, Amethyst, you took it, didn't you?"

"I did not!"

"Then how did it end up down here?' Amethyst was about to answer, but Pearl continued, "It's ok, it's in the past, we don't need to worry about it anymore, and I forgive you." Pearl went to her room to return the sword to its rightful place, and a mildly annoyed Amethyst returned to her own room to further clutter an already dangerously messy room. These events left Steven as the only person in the beach house, and he continued to eat breakfast until he heard a knock on the door. Steven quickly went to answer it, but to his surprise, there was no one there; just a small piece of paper. Steven picked it up, went inside, and read the note, which said that evil forces were going to attack the mythical Solar Sea Spire. Just as Steven finished reading the note, Garnet emerged from her trek to burn the relic. Steven handed her the note, and as she was reading, Pearl returned from her room; within a short time, Amethyst had also surfaced from the ever-growing pile of junk that was her room.

"Let's go," Garnet quietly reasoned.

"Garnet, are you sure," Pearl asked. "Why would someone just leave an anonymous tip for us? We don't even know who this person is, or how they know of these forces attack the Solar Sea Spire."

"The only way we'll know if this person is telling the truth is to go there." Pearl resigned her argument. Steven, meanwhile, wanted to accompany the Gems on their adventure, and asked to go with them.

"No," Pearl quickly responded. "The Solar Sea Spire is extremely dangerous! You could be injured, or even killed, if you were to join us."

"Eh, let him come," Amethyst chimed in. "Really, what's so bad about the Solar Sea Spire that he can't come?"

"You saw what happened when we went to the Lunar Sea Spire," Pearl whispered to Amethyst, too faint for Steven to hear.

"He still helped us. Besides…" Amethyst began chanting faintly. "Cheeseburger backpack, cheeseburger backpack, cheeseburger backpack, cheese-"

"I get it," Pearl interrupted. "Fine, Steven, you can come with us."

"Yay!" Steven jumped for joy, and joined the Gems on the teleporter.

"Let's warp," Garnet quickly said, and they were off.


	3. The Search Begins

Unknown to the Gems, as they left to handle this new threat, another was descending into Beach City. This man wore a black power suit, which was all black with the exception of a clear covering which showed his eyes, but none of his face was visible otherwise. In addition, his palms had strange see-through coverings that revealed two square pieces of bronze that were grafted to his skin. Only a few minutes after they made leave to handle the new threat, he landed in front of the Crystal Temple, the headquarters of the Gems. He raised his left arm closer to his helmet and, using a wrist communicator, was able to speak with a second person.

"Agate, can you hear me," he asked, in a slightly distorted voice.

"I hear you, Topaz," the second voice responded.

"Great," Topaz responded. "How's the distraction coming along? I saw the Gems leave a few minutes ago."

"The Gems have just arrived. You do know that they will lay us to waste when they reach us, right?"

"Of course; just leave when they get close. By then, I'll have had plenty of time to find the Gem."

"Will be done. Just call if you need anything."

"Ok, thanks!" Topaz ended the recording, approached the door, and turned the doorknob, which was locked. He kicked the door inward, perhaps a little too hard- the door was sent off its hinges and crashed into the opposite wall; Topaz shrugged and went inside.

The search began in the beach house, where Topaz searched every inch, every microscopic opening in the small room, taking the liberty to destroy the refrigerator and to leave the room in a generally haphazard state. He also searched Steven's room, taking care to move his TV into the main beach house and to confiscate his video games, as wells as various other items in the small space. He removed a burlap bag from a small storage space on the back of his power suit and put the confiscated items in the bag; when he was done collecting, he left the bag at the door. He now approached the doorway into the Crystal Temple. Topaz once again raised his left wrist, which shifted to project an interactive holographic screen with unrecognizable numbers, and he began rearranging the numbers with his right hand. After several moments of deleting and sorting, the door was split in half by a white line, with a circle at its center. The door opened, and Topaz entered the Crystal Temple.


	4. Within The Crystal Temple

Topaz was greeted by the sight of fountains, several of them, within a majestic lake. Some distance away, Topaz could see a large waterfall; he knew at once whose room he was in. He took out a small metal ball, pressed a few buttons on its side, and threw it into the closest fountain. The ball activated and displayed a holographic version of Pearl performing a seemingly interpretive dance; when done, the ball deactivated, and Pearl's sword collection rose up from the waterfall. Topaz quickly jumped up to the waterfall, propelled by ion engines at the soles of his boots, and snatched the whole collection. Removing another bag from the storage space on his back, he put the swords in the bag and picked up the small metal ball. He reprogramed the ball and repeated this process for the other waterfalls in Pearl's room, but none of them contained the Gem he sought, nor did they contain anything worth taking. A disappointed Topaz once again launched his ion rockets and descended through the waterfall, landing in Amethyst's room. Topaz smiled as he visually examined the cluttered mess of junk; it was just as he remembered it. Knowing that examining the room would be impossible in this state, and to annoy Amethyst, Topaz proceeded to organize every single item in Amethyst's room into categories, and then to place them in enclosed plastic bins, which provided a thorough search. When done, Topaz stared fondly at his work, though was still disappointed at the letdown of the room's absence of the Gem. Topaz saw an exit on the left, and took the route.

His mindless walk through the temple eventually led him to a dark room with a lava pool at its center. Topaz approached it, and as he stared into the blazing embers of the molten rock, an awful idea germinated in his cranium. He took the burlap bag that contained Pearl's sword and dropped it into the lava. As the metal dissolved into the lava, reverting to the superheated form in which it came from, Topaz smiled, thinking of how Pearl might react when she returned. Finally, Topaz returned to the Crystal Heart, which he had passed earlier on his journey, and using its heartbeat as a pulse, activated an automated radar programmed into his suit to seek out Gem signals from anywhere in the Temple, but there were no signals. Annoyed, Topaz returned to the outside of the beach house, taking the items from Steven's room with him, and radioed back to Agate.

"Agate, you there," he asked.

"Of course," Agate responded. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No, it wasn't in the Temple. I believe that it is in the possession of one of the Gems."

"Then how are we going to get it; fighting four vs. one against the Gems is an impossible task, even for you."

"I know! I'll need something to help me, something that-" Topaz paused as an idea came to mind. "I got it! I know what I need!"

"Don't just stand there blubbering; what is it?"

"I don't have time to explain! By the way, how are those Gems?"

"Judging from the security footage, the Gems have almost reached us."

"Then get out; I've had all the time I need. Thank you for your help."

"Any time! See ya soon!" The transmission ended, and Topaz moved forth with a certain car wash owner in his sights…


	5. Interrogated at It's A Wash

After a short walk, Topaz reached the car wash. Recognizing the van, he knew he was in the right place.

"Too bad nothing ever came of that one-man band," he began. "Except Steven." Topaz walked up to the van and quietly knock on the door. "Gregory, are you there," he whispered several times, before forgetting subtlety and kicking the rim of the van, activating its alarm. Topaz quickly hid along the right side of the van as Greg Universe jumped out of the back, a cooking utensil in hand.

"Stay back! I have a spatula!" He waved it around as if it was some sort of weapon as Topaz tried not to laugh at the ridiculous sight. Suppressing his giggling, he snuck up behind Greg and tapped his shoulder. Greg turned around, and before he could react to the sight of a menacing-looking figure in a black power suit, Topaz grabbed him in a choke hold with both hands and lifted him into the air. Greg swung the spatula at Topaz, but Topaz removed one of his hands and grabbed the silver weapon; he threw it on the ground and reaffirmed the position of his hand on Greg's neck. With Greg helpless, Topaz began the interrogation.

"The Laser Light Gun! Where is it?!" he shouted. Greg struggled a little with the metallic hands that gripped his esophagus, while Topaz continued. "Remember, Greg? I gave you the Laser Light Gun; now I want it back. So… where is it?!"

"Topaz," he began, struggling to say anything through Topaz' iron grip. "No… it can't…" Frustrated, Topaz turned and forcibly threw Greg back inside the van; he hit the wall with a loud '_bang!_' Topaz moved toward the stunned Greg, but something else caught his eye: a pair of keys laying on the floor of the van. He picked up the keys and read the attached keychain, which contained information about Greg's U-Store storage unit. Underneath his black helmet, Topaz' mouth curled into a sinister smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you," he affirmed. He closed the doors of the van and left for the U-Store.

While Topaz was off retrieving the Laser Light Gun, the Gems finished up their business in the Solar Sea Spire and began to return to the Crystal Temple via teleportation as Pearl pondered over the nature of these 'evil forces'.

"It still doesn't make any sense; if these 'evil forces' were really attacking the Solar Sea Spire, then why would they just leave without causing any harm to it," she wondered as the group returned.

"What's important is that these forces were driven from the Spire," Garnet began. "If there was any harm done, it was minor."

"But you cannot ignore this anomaly, Garnet," Pearl responded, as the teleportation completed. "It's just that the note referred to it as 'attacking', and they weren't-" Pearl paused as she and the rest of the Gems noticed the mess that Topaz had made, but before anyone could react, the door opened. In stepped an out-of-breath Greg Universe, hunched over trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry," he said, talking between breaths. "Van broke down halfway here… had to run the rest of the way…" Garnet approached the winded man.

"What is it, Greg?" Garnet asked. Greg suddenly seemed to catch his breath and began talking normally.

"I need to talk to you guys, in private; something terrible has happened." Greg leaned toward Garnet's ear. "Who was green, a technician, and crushed a beautiful flower?" Garnet paused for a moment, then the realization came upon her.

"Topaz," she gasped.


	6. The Standoff

Topaz, now armed with a white, cylindrical-shaped gun, could feel an anger toward the Crystal Gems boiling in his veins as he walked toward the Crystal Temple; he could see it now, and as he gazed at the statue of Rose that graced the entrance of the temple, a feeling of guilt also flowed through him. Topaz looked down and sighed, as if recalling some painful memory, and a tear streamed down his cheek. Topaz took off his helmet to wipe the tear away, then reapplied the headgear and kept moving. When he neared the Temple, he once again radioed his assistant.

"Agate, you there," he asked.

"Of course. Did the Gems return?"

"I'm not there yet, but I do have a few bags that I need you to teleport up; can you do that?"

"Sure!" After some background noise, his assistant continued. "You coming back any time soon?"

"I can't leave until I get that Gem piece; I'll tell you when I'm ready to teleport."

"Fine then. Godspeed, Topaz." The transmission ended, and Topaz continued toward the Temple, of which he soon arrived at. As Topaz stared through the opened door, he saw Greg perfect lined up with the opening of the door. Topaz readied his gun to make this man pay for warning the Gems of his plans, but after seeing someone out of the corner of his eye, he looked down toward his left foot and saw Steven standing below. Steven had been waiting outside while the Gems talked to Greg in private, and had seen Topaz aiming what seemed to him a strange-looking weapon inside the house; he approached Topaz to see what he was doing. Topaz talked to Steven quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of those inside.

"Steven," he quietly began, "Go away; this does not involve you." When Steven failed to withdraw his position, Topaz once again quietly ordered Steven to walk off. "Steven, I'm not going to hurt you, but I need you to walk away right now." When Steven once again did not leave him be, Topaz lost control of his thoughts and blurted out "Do I have to shoot you too?!" Having realized Topaz's intentions, he walked in front of the door and blocked Topaz's opening.

"I won't let you hurt my friends," he pronounced. Topaz paused for a moment, then laughed and shook his head several times.

"So brave, so dumb," he chuckled to himself. He stopped laughing and pointed the Laser Light Gun at Steven, forgetting to hush his voice. "Well then, if you're certain about that, then I'm just going to have to-" Suddenly, Topaz realized his mistake. He looked up and saw the three Gems and Greg all gazing at him, having heard his voice. No one moved.


	7. The Crystal Gems vs Topaz

Topaz broke the silence by quickly raising his weapon at and firing it. The light beam struck Greg head-on, and he was sent flying, flying out of the other side of the beach house and continuing for hundreds of feet, eventually landing in the warm seawater.

"DAD!" Steven shouted, running through the newly-formed hole in the wall and toward the shore, while Topaz slowly walked backwards, distancing himself from the Gems, who quickly went outside to confront Topaz, weapons in hand. As they came towards him at a rapid pace, Topaz discharged a round of Laser Light fire; the blast hit Pearl, who went flying several yards backward and crashed into the side of the house. Without giving the gun any cool-down time, he discharged another round; this one struck Amethyst, who was also sent flying backwards, albeit not quite as far as Pearl. But the gun could not deter Garnet; she dodged Topaz's Laser Light blasts. He fired three consecutive blasts at Garnet, all of them missing their target, before the gun burned out. His weapon useless, Topaz felt a surge of intimidation overwhelm him as Garnet closed the distance between them, but Topaz suddenly remember all the times before when he had seen Garnet work her magic of crushing skulls together; he knew her moves, and now knew exactly what to do. Garnet closed the remaining feet between them and delivered a powerful right cross towards his helmet; to her surprise, Topaz blocked the fist.

In an instant, the momentum of the fight shifted; in one sweeping motion, Topaz kicked her left shin, delivered a left hook, and, with as much force as he could muster, bashed her face with the butt of the Laser Light Gun. Garnet stumbled backward from the force of the blow, and Topaz quickly moved behind Garnet and pinned her arms behind her back. Activating his signal tracker, the Gem was revealed to be within the confines of some secret pocket in the gauntlet on Garnet's right hand. While Topaz prodded the gauntlet to find this pocket, Amethyst came to and saw Garnet in trouble; she thrust the end of her gem-laced whip towards Topaz, which wrapped around his lower torso, and started pulling. Topaz managed to resist Amethyst's tugging, but only with great effort; it seemed to him that Amethyst was stronger than he had expected. He continued to probe Garnet's gauntlet, which was progressively becoming more difficult as Garnet increased her resistance against Topaz's pinning. Around this time, Pearl came to as well. She grabbed her glaive and threw it toward the suited menace; it struck and penetrated the armor in Topaz's left leg, and he cringed as a massive pain erupted from the general area. Topaz slammed his fingers on the glove in reaction, and happened to strike the secret pocket. He stuck his fingers inside, but Garnet broke free from the clutch of Topaz's hands, and she turned around and struck him with a powerful backhand strike which sent Topaz crashing hard into the side of the house. As Garnet raced towards Topaz, he frantically radioed Agate.

"Agate, Agate," he shouted. "Beam me up right now!"

"I'll do my best, but it might take a few seconds…"

"HURRY!" Topaz heard background noise and turned off his communicator as a blue light struck him as if from the heavens. Topaz removed the glaive from his leg and braced for Garnet's impact, but his particles then began to dissolve into the light, and by the time she reached him, he had competed disappeared. The light faded from view, as Garnet stared at the impact crater where Topaz had impacted. She sighed, and went to help up her teammates. Together, the three of them returned to the beach house in silence.


	8. Topaz's Challenge

After their battle with Topaz, the trio cleaned up the mess that Topaz had made of the beach house and of Steven's room. Steven and Greg had returned from the shore during the Gem's battle with Topaz, and while Greg was only mildly injured, he was very shaken by the experience and was laying on Steven's bed while the others tidied up after the power-suited menace. When at last done, the room looked spiffy as ever, as if no man had ever touched it. Steven was about to go upstairs to check on his dad, but then noticed the TV located in the main room. As Steven walked up to move it, the TV flashed on, at first with the approximate quality of a degrading VHS tape, but then increasing in quality to reveal Topaz. His helmet was off now, and he was sitting on a black chair, his feet kicked up on an off-screen surface. He smiled.

"Good afternoon, Steven," he greeted. "I need to speak with your friend Garnet." Steven went and brought Garnet to the screen. "Lose something?" Topaz held up a small green Gem and beamed wickedly. Garnet quickly turned to her right gauntlet and felt her finger into the not-so-secret pocket; there was no Gem in it. Garnet looked toward Topaz.

"Topaz, don't do this," she warned.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's too late for that, Garnet," Topaz retorted. "You started this twelve years ago; you made me suffer, and now you shall-" Suddenly, Topaz was interrupted by a loud scream coming from the Crystal Temple. Amethyst came running out of her room and up to Steven and Garnet.

"Guys," she began frantically, "Topaz, he-" Amethyst noticed Topaz on the TV screen. "You!" Amethyst stormed closer to the screen.

"Yes," Topaz questioned calmly.

"You organized my entire room! I have a system; you of all people should know that!"

"And I do," Topaz responded. "All the more reason to clean up that desperate situation." Topaz smiled, which further angered Amethyst; the argument would have likely continued, but a very concerned Pearl emerged from her room as well. She approached the trio of Gems, but then perceived the complexion of Topaz on the television. She approached the TV.

"Topaz," she began, crossing her arms. "Care to explain what you did with my sword collection?"

"Oh, I took it," Topaz proudly responded. "Don't worry, it can still help you guys out- whenever Garnet burns relics."

"You threw my swords in Garnet's burning chamber?!"

"No, I dropped them in the chamber; there's a difference." Topaz giggled as Pearl resigned her argument. She backed away from the TV, and Topaz continued. "There still may be time for you to stop me; as you can see..." He held up the green Gem fragment. "I still haven't reattached this piece of the Gem. Try and find me if you like; I know I'll be waiting for you…" The transmission fizzled out and ended.


	9. He Must Be Stopped

"We must stop him," Garnet quietly concluded.

"But where will we find him," Pearl questioned. Garnet walked over to the window, Pearl accompanying her, and she pointed out to a nearby buoy with an attached sign. It read: **20 Miles to Topaz's Hideout**, and had a sign pointing eastward, toward the sea.

"He wants to be found," Garnet proclaimed.

"Then we'll be walking into a trap."

"As long as he has the Gem, he threatens the safety of the universe. He must be stopped." Pearl resigned her argument. She went to get Amethyst, who was busy unloading the contents of the plastic bins Topaz had used to tidy her room. Garnet went outside to prepare the Gem ship for travel; meanwhile, inside Amethyst's room, Pearl and Amethyst argued, over Steven's potential presence in the mission.

"For the last time, Steven CANNOT come on this mission," Pearl ordered.

"Pearl, it's been twelve years! We can't do this forever!"

"I know!" Pearl calmed herself. "It just hurts so much, to recall all that happened."

"At least tell him who Topaz is." There was a pause. "Pearl, it's only a matter of time. Either we tell him…" Amethyst walked toward the door. "…or he'll find out himself." Amethyst left, and Pearl followed shortly afterward; the both of them went outside and prepared to leave to confront Topaz. But Steven's curiosity piqued him over the identity of this 'Topaz' person, for the Gems seemed to know him; he wanted to join them on the mission to learn about this man. He proposed this to Pearl.

"Steven," she began slowly. "No, I don't want you to come, it's just that…" Pearl breathed a heavy sigh. She looked over at Amethyst, who cocked her head in Steven's direction, reminding Pearl of the secret. "There were once five Crystal Gems, and Topaz, he… he was a Crystal Gem too." She looked toward Amethyst, who smiled and continued the story.

"Topaz was our technician, and he built some cool stuff," she continued. "He went everywhere with us, and at the time, he was a real nice guy. All of us, including Rose, enjoyed his company. But one day he just lost it."

"Topaz was a powerful man," Pearl affirmed. "He could use his Gem in ways that neither we, nor any other Gem, could. And that power suit of his…" Pearl faintly smiled. "But he was simply too powerful to lose even the smallest control over his abilities, and one day he lost control. We came to the conclusion that Topaz was no longer capable of handling his Gem, and therefore..." Pearl bent her head down, reminiscing on the sad moment.

"We kicked him out," finished Amethyst. "It was a sad day, just after you were born, actually. I can't say for sure what Topaz has been up to for twelve years, but whatever it is, it's not good."

"He's dangerous, Steven. You could be hurt, or killed, if you came with us. Therefore, I forbid you to come." Disappointed, Steven turned away and began to return to the beach house. Amethyst and Pearl both boarded the Gem ship. Garnet stared off toward Steven.

"Where's Steven going," she asked.

"I told him he couldn't come with us," Pearl responded. "I assumed you would think likewise." Garnet was silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"We need to bring Steven."

"Why?"

"Someone has to watch the ship while the rest of us battle Topaz."

"But-" Garnet stared at Pearl, and she realized that any argument was useless. She went and told Steven of Garnet's wishes, and the enraptured Steven ran outside and entered the ship, Pearl just behind him. Garnet snapped her fingers, and the boat sped off towards Topaz' hideaway.


	10. The Operation

After some time navigating the high seas, the boat reached an unknown shore. Garnet looked up and examined her new surroundings, which included palm trees with ripe coconuts dangling from their leaves, glistening sands at her feet, and a large, dormant volcano looming above them. Pearl got off the boat to further examine this new shoreline. Garnet removed herself from the inside of the boat as well, before noticing Amethyst, deep in slumber.

"Amethyst, wake up," Garnet ordered to the sleeping Amethyst; she continued to snore. Garnet bent down and shook Amethyst, an action that did remove her from her peaceful sleep. She hazily got up and joined Garnet and Pearl outside of the ship, while Garnet attended to the also-asleep Steven. "Steven, wake up," Garnet requested, in a slightly-less serious tone. It was all that was needed; Steven shot up quicker than a blade of grass does at the first rainfall of springtime. He looked up and saw Garnet staring down at him. "Steven, you are to stay here and make sure the boat does not leave shore, and do not leave the boat unless an emergency arises. Leave Topaz to us," Garnet reminded. Steven was disappointed, but understood Garnet's orders; he gave a nod of approval. Garnet joined Amethyst and Pearl, and the trio walked toward the volcano in the distance.

Meanwhile, Topaz sat in a chair within the depths of his lair. His wrists and legs were tied by rope to the metallic seat, and he did not wear his power suit; gray thermal garments clothed Topaz instead, and further revealed the square bronze metal grafted to his hands. His assistant Agate entered the room.

"Have you reconstructed those Gems yet," Topaz asked. Agate pulled out two green Gems from behind his back.

"What would we ever do without molecular bonding? I warn you, though, it will be… painful," Agate warned.

"I know," Topaz affirmed. He maneuvered his palms so that they were exposed to Agate. The assistant grabbed a pair of large tweezers from a nearby tray and approached Topaz.

"I could give you an anesthetic if you wanted," Agate informed.

"No thanks; I'll be too groggy afterward. Just begin the operation."

"Very well." Agate grabbed the wedge of metal on his left hand with the tweezers and began pulling. Topaz's expression quickly changed, his eyes closed tightly and he bore his teeth as he turned his head away. His hand juddered in the bound rope, quaking more with every second, every pull of the tweezers all-the-more painful for the fallen Crystal Gem. Topaz shook his chair back and forth like a toddler engaged in a tantrum, but ten seconds later, the last silvers of skin detached from the bronze metal. Topaz breathed heavily as blood flowed from the newly-formed cavity in his palm. Agate tossed the hunk of metal aside, grabbed the metal on Topaz's right hand, and continued pulling. The pain quickly returned to torment Topaz, and after another minute of horrendous misery, the second piece of metal came off, which, as before, was tossed aside. The assistant returned to the tray, Topaz still withering in pain, and swapped the placement of the tweezers in his hands with a welding torch. Agate returned to the bound Topaz and tightened the loose rope that bound Topaz to his seat. He took one of the Gems and placed it on the large cavity in Topaz's left hand, then applied the welding torch and began welding the Gem onto Topaz's hand.

To say the word 'horrendous' would not begin to describe the agony that Topaz felt in his hand. He screamed, throwing his head backward with his eyes tightly shut, and tears ran down his face as his hand trembled with the throbbing pain, which only made the operation more of a labor as Agate struggled to graft the Gem with Topaz's trembling hand. After several minutes, the first hand was finally completed. Agate repeated this process for Topaz's right hand; several more excruciating minutes later, both hands were completed. While Topaz breathed heavily, Agate untied the ropes that bound Topaz, who struggled to come to his feet once this was done. He moved to wipe the tears from his face, and noticed a strange glow emitting from his Gems.

"Could it really be…" Topaz thought to himself. He looked up and aimed at the metallic wall. Using the whole of his concentration and willpower, Topaz generated a green light beam from his Gem, which left the imprint of a burn on the wall. He stared at the mark for some time, and then, the realization came to him: the operation had been a success, his Gem had been reattached. Topaz smiled and entered a state of sheer rapture, running around the room and jumping up and down the way a child would. A smiling Agate looked up at the nearby security monitors, and his expression changed to one of concern.

"Uh, Topaz," Agate began. Topaz halted his celebration and turned to Agate. "The Gems are coming."

"As expected. Is Steven with them?"

"I saw him on the ship's approach, but he's not with them right now."

"Damn! I wanted to talk to him," Topaz stamped his foot down on the ground, but then an idea came to mind. He calmly smiled. "Agate," he began. "Get me the bits."


	11. When Steven Met Topaz

Steven awoke. He picked up his chubby body and looked around, but the Gems had not returned yet, though it felt like time had passed an eternity since they had left. Steven had not slept well; actually, he had been in the midst of a horrible nightmare. He had dreamt that he was strapped to a chair, being forced to bear witness to the final battle of the Crystal Gems against Topaz, but the Gems were not winning. Topaz had backed the Gems into a corner, and Steven was forced to watch the Gems fall to their knees in surrender, in defeat. The worst of it was when the Gems cried out for Steven's help in distorted, shrill voices, as if they knew that Steven was there, that pierced Steven's ears like the thorns of a bramble bush. These cries had triggered Steven's consciousness, and ended the horrid sequence. A bored Steven stared down on the sands and saw a French fry bit. Steven's mouth watered at the sight, and he reminisced on the crispy, salty deliciousness of those beloved bits that the Beach Citywalk Fries had always given him, provided with enough provoking to do so. Despite Garnet's explicit orders not to leave the boat, Steven couldn't help himself. He looked around to make sure that no one would see him, then removed himself from the ship. He picked up the French fry bit off of the sands, and ate it. Steven might have returned to the inside of the ship then, had he not noticed a series of bits in front of him, which formed a pathway that led away from the ship. As much as it pained him to disobey the Gems, Steven travelled the pathway of those bits, picking up and eating them as he went along. The pathway led him into the lair of Topaz, where Steven entered a dark room with a spotlight aiming vertically downward at a plate of the heavenly bits. Steven ran over as quickly as his miniscule legs would carry him and picked up the plate in preparation to savor the taste of the bits, when a trapdoor opened from beneath his feet, and Steven fell into the dark pit.

It seemed for a perpetually long time to Steven that he fell down this pit, but he eventually landed in a small dark room, his landing padded by a small mattress. A large TV flashed on from in front of Steven, and showed a smiling Topaz, now wearing his power suit, but not his helmet.

"Hello, Steven," Topaz greeted. Steven's whole body quaked in fear of the man watching him, and Topaz tried to calm Steven. "Don't be scared, Steven, you're not the one I'm upset with; it's your friends that I have a bone to pick with…" This slightly calmed the still-petrified Steven, and Topaz carried on. "Did the Gems tell you 'bout me?"

"Y-Yeah," Steven responded. "T-They said that you w-were a Crystal Gem once too, and that y-you lost control of your powers." Topaz let out a laugh.

"Well," he began, still chucking, "I guess that's what happened. But I took you down there to cement my side of the story, because, forsooth, there's more to it than just that."

"W-What do you mean?"

"I mean that the Gems didn't tell you the whole story, and I'm going to finish it for you. I was once a Crystal Gem, and it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. We fought evil spirits and giant worms, battled Centipeedle mothers and clashed with living islands!" Topaz smiled, reminiscing on those happy times. His smile quickly disappeared. "But then Amethyst came and took away all that happiness."

"Amethyst?"

"She meant little harm unto me, nor did she intend for Rose to suffer as well," Topaz reasoned. "But that doesn't make her any less the one at fault. Stick around, and I'll tell you how it all happened…"


	12. The Story He Told, Part I

"It all started when your mommy Rose became… 'Enceinte'; pardon my French, Steven." Topaz and Steven chucked a little. "Yeah, Rosie was just crazy for Greg back then, at least after he wrote that song for her; what was it called…" Topaz was silent for a moment, trying to harness his memory to remember this song, but Steven knew what it was.

"Drive My Van into Your Heart?"

"Yeah, that's the song!" Topaz continued with his story. "Rose always loved music, so it was no surprise when she told us one night that she was going to attend some gig in Beach City, but I did find it odd when she came back with this tiny-looking guy and wanted to introduce him to all of us. And after that song, well… she just adored him. Pretty soon they actually got legally married, provided that the event was out-of-town; there are no churches in Beach City. And, well, they, uh…" Topaz paused sheepishly for a moment. "They… did what married couples do…" Topaz's blushed a little, his cheeks turning a pale red. "…and soon enough, Rose was expecting a child." The blood in his face dissipated and he continued.

"Rose was essentially incapacitated from the team due to her pregnancy; we couldn't risk her injuring the small fetus that you were. It was difficult, but we managed, and a speedy 252 days later, you were brought unto this world. I remember seeing you for the first time just a few hours after you were born; you were the cutest little baby in the world…" Topaz beamed at Steven, thinking about that first sight. "Rose could've returned now that she had given birth, but she had other plans…" As Topaz continued, Steven was extremely confused; the Gems had always told him that Rose's physicality vanished when she gave birth to him.

"But, Topaz…" he blurted out.

"But?" Steven looked down at his Gem as he remembered the story that he had been told for years.

"The Gems, and Dad, t-they always told me that she had given up her physical form to b-bring me into the world…" Topaz was silent for a moment, then made a faint smile.

"They lied to you. Of course, I can completely understand why; there was only so much that you could know…" Topaz had now only confused Steven more.

"Then… what happened?"

"I'll tell you, since I believe you old enough to know the truth, even if the Gems don't think so. It had been about two weeks since you were born, and Rose was packing up. At this point, she wanted to retire, be with Greg, and raise you as the next Crystal Gem; she had already bonded her Gem to that round belly-button of yours. I took a visit to her room, just to say goodbye, and we were having a nice conversation with each other. But then Amethyst came." Steven tried, but couldn't imagine what Amethyst had done; sure, she was a free spirit, but he never knew her to be a villainous force. "You must understand, Steven, Amethyst has always been a jokester, but back in my days as a Gem she could get out of control. That's not to say that she wasn't a nice person, because she was, but her impulsive behaviors became a real problem at times. Like that night. I saw a bug walking along the floor, and when it got close to Rose, it shape shifted into Amethyst. She turned around to me and brought her index finger up to her lips, and made a soft 'shhh!' sound. She then turned around and pinched Rose's… bottom." Steven sat in complete silence as Topaz continued his story. "Before Rose had even noticed her, she had transformed back into a bug and was crawling away. Since I was the only one that she knew to be in the room with her, she promptly accused me of the act. I told the truth, and said that I was not the one at fault; I even tried to explain that Amethyst had been the perpetrator, but the deeply offended Rose refused to listen to me. The whole thing escalated into a shouting match for the ages; I don't even remember what we said, but we were shrieking and hollering, and oh, it was quite the argument. And then…" Topaz sniffled and wiped a tear from his cheek. "And then something happened."


	13. The Story He Told, Part II

By now, Topaz was barely able to hold back his tears. "In the midst of all that commotion, I must have activated my Gem, because at a certain point, Rose's expression changed. She pointed at my hands, and I looked toward them and saw…" Topaz paused, and breathed deeply. "I saw these massive green bubbles emerging from my fisted hands, but they weren't like your bubbles, or Garnet's; these bubble were rippling and extremely unstable, and even I was taken aback; I didn't know that I had such a power. A split-second later, everything went dark." As Topaz continued his voice gradually and drastically changed to a higher pitch. "When I came to, I was laying against the wall of the room. Garnet was staring over me, and Amethyst and Pearl were attending to the unconscious Rose, who was laying on her bed, or what was left of it. The room had been completely trashed, a large hole had been made in the wall opposite to where I awoke, and debris was everywhere. As I regained consciousness, Garnet pulled me up to my feet and demanded to know what had happened. I began to explain what had happened, at least to the best of my ability, but then I noticed Pearl and Amethyst, they were crying. Without another word to Garnet, I went over, and moved my right hand towards Rose's neck. I felt for a pulse, but…" Topaz hunched over and put his hands over his face. "There was none!" Topaz was finished; he broke down and began crying. Steven just stared at Topaz, on the verge of tears himself. "She wasn't even warm, Steven. Do you have any idea how that feels?!" On these words, Steven began crying himself, and the two of them sobbed together for some time, until Topaz felt up to finishing his story.

"I tried again to explain what had happened to Garnet, but she wasn't interested in my side of the story anymore. The three of the first told Greg the bad news, then turned their thought to me; what would they do to me? I learned a few days later, when I was unceremoniously booted from the Crystal Gems." Topaz's crying was finally subdued, and he removed his hands from his face. "I was stripped of my Gem and its abilities, and they sent me off, hoping tha-" Topaz paused and looked up at an off-screen security monitor. "Well, Steven, it seems that your friends are almost here, so I'll have to end this tale, but I can't stand the sight of you in there anymore, after the emotional ordeal that we both have been through." Topaz pressed a few buttons on the monitor, and a steel door to the right of Steven opened, revealing a passageway. "Hurry now, or you'll miss the party!" Despite his emotional exhaustion, Steven lifted himself up and went out the door.


	14. The Perfectionist's Last Chance

Topaz turned off his monitor, and arose from his seat. He grabbed a nearby washcloth and dried his eyes, then donned his black helmet and walked out to the entryway. The room that he stood in was within the depths of the volcano, albeit there was no more lava in it; the volcano had been dormant for centuries. One section of the room was raised high over the other, and this was where Topaz stood, waiting for the Crystal Gems. Eventually, someone did come; a purple man who looked very much like a police officer.

"This is the police! Put your hands up," the officer shouted. Topaz chuckled and shook his head back and forth.

"Clever, Amethyst, but you can't fool me." The figure shape-shifted into a disappointed Amethyst, and Garnet and Pearl joined her in the room. They approached Topaz.

"Weapons, Gems," Garnet commanded, and the Gems activated their weapons. Topaz raised his left arm and pressed several buttons on the suit.

"Off-sides." Topaz waved his hands into the air, and a rectangular, see-through box descended from the air onto the exact locations of Garnet and Amethyst. An orange force-field covered the box, sealing Garnet and Amethyst inside. While Topaz pressed several more buttons, Pearl heaved her glaive towards Topaz, who grabbed the weapon right out of the air. Topaz gave Pearl a cross look, then continued pushing buttons. Two cranes from above latched onto the boxes and moved them to opposite sides of the room. Topaz descended to the lower level of the room, his landing cushioned by the ion rockets in the soles of his boots. The glaive remaining in Topaz's hand, and he strutted back and forth as he talked. "Pearl, I am going to give you three chances to take my life, for it ended twelve years prior. End my suffering, or I'll make you suffer."

"I cannot bring myself to your level, Topaz; as heinous a crime as you committed, I cannot kill you."

"Aw, come on, why not try? Then again, I shouldn't be surprised, considering this is coming from someone who can't even remember to buy a coat at wintertime." He tossed the glaive back to Pearl, who glanced at Topaz with an annoyed look on her face. Topaz smiled, "Ah, now we might cooperate? You have three throws." Topaz lowered his arms to his sides and remained completely still, and Pearl realized that she would have to play this game with Topaz. She readied her arm, and pitched the first throw. This throw was a fair distance away from Topaz's right arm, and stuck itself to the rock wall. Topaz walked over and pulled the item out of the wall. "You only have two more throws…" He tossed the glaive back to Pearl, who concentrated harder than before. She took some time to position the shot, being the perfectionist that she was, and then heaved the second throw. This throw was much closer, landing just above Topaz's head, though he did not flinch once. The glaive again latched onto the rock wall, and Topaz removed it from the rocky barrier. "Last chance, Pearl. I can guarantee you that I won't be in such a forgiving mood after the next throw…" He once again returned the glaive to her possession, and reaffirmed his former position. This time, Pearl spent much longer planning the shot, knowing that it would be her last. She studied the shot angle, her throwing technique, and even mapped the trajectory with her Gem. When she was ready, she cast the final throw.

This throw impaled Topaz in his upper right arm, and he grimaced in pain for a moment. He then calmly grabbed the weapon and removed it from his arm. A small amount of blood dripped from the now-exposed hole in Topaz's armor, and he looked at her with a disappointed look. "Your three chances are up, Pearl." In an instant his complexion change to one of anger. "You have failed to kill me; now you shall suffer!"


	15. The Wrath of Topaz

Topaz tossed the glaive high up into the air, and while Pearl's concentration was on catching it, Topaz charged at her. Pearl caught the glaive, and less than a second later Topaz connected at her torso with a crushing shoulder charge that sent her flying backward onto the ground. Without giving her any time to get up, Topaz fired a blast from his Gem that impacted near Pearl and exploded, sending her flying backward once again. Topaz again rushed the grounded Pearl, who saw an opening in his defense and quickly threw her glaive. This throw impaled Topaz's torso armor, and stunned him momentarily, allowing Pearl to pick herself up and form some sort of a plan. With much effort, Topaz removed the glaive from his armor, though he remained in obvious pain. He tore the glaive in half, which dissipated in his hands, and moved towards Pearl, who removed another from the Gem on her forehead and waited for Topaz to approach her. When he did, she struck him with a long series of strikes from her glaive. While Topaz was initially stunned by the attack, leaving himself open for strikes, he quickly pulled himself together and blocked the later strikes at a rapid pace. Eventually, Pearl left herself open for the smallest moment, and there, Topaz struck. Blocking the final strike, he grabbed the glaive, turned around, and threw Pearl over his shoulder and slammed her on the ground, all in one motion. He then picked Pearl up by her hands and swung her around, faster and faster, until he let go and threw her into the wall with a large amount of force. Topaz then pressed several buttons on his suit, and electric manacles arose from the ground and trapped Pearl's arms and legs using similar technology that trapped Amethyst and Garnet at that moment. Topaz swooped his arm down, grabbing her glaive, which had been dropped during Topaz's offense, and approached her. He then took the glaive and, with much force, thrust the weapon into the edge of Pearl's Gem, making a crevice between the skin and the Gem, and Pearl yelped in pain. Topaz then began pushing downward, with gradually more force, and Pearl's moans of pain gradually became louder as more force was applied. Moaning turned to screaming as the grafting's separated, as Topaz applied more and more force, until the Gem was finally removed.

It came off in a shower of sparks, and Topaz ran over and caught the Gem, which he placed in a compartment in his suit. He then came back to Pearl, who had fallen unconscious; the pain of the event was too much for her. Topaz picked up her nonmoving body and placed it on the raised section, then turned his attention to Amethyst. He pressed a button on his suit.

"Release prisoner #2," he commanded, and the force-field surrounding Amethyst dropped. The compartment lifted up, and Amethyst walked towards Topaz. He descended back to the lower level, and Amethyst once again engaged her weapon. She snapped the whip at first towards Topaz's feet, which he dodged, but the third snap hit Topaz in the wound on his arm. He recoiled and yelped in pain, but Amethyst had done little more than anger Topaz. On the next snap, Topaz grabbed the whip with his hands, and began pulling against Amethyst; she pulled back, and the two were at a standstill. They engaged in this tug-o-war for some time, until an idea came to the mind of Amethyst. She let up all her opposing force and pushed against the whip towards Topaz. The idea worked: Topaz stumbled backwards and the airborne Amethyst collided with Topaz with enough force to knock him onto the ground. Amethyst lifted her left hand to deliver a strike, but Topaz grabbed the fist with his right hand. She then raised her right hand, but Topaz grabbed that hand as well. Topaz then uncrossed his arms, crossing Amethyst's in the process, and gripped her torso. Pulling himself up, he walked over, Amethyst in grip, and held her against the volcanic wall. While Amethyst's arms unwound and struggled with the iron grip of Topaz's left hand, he felt his right hand along the top of a nearby table. His outstretched fingers eventually lay contact to the item that Topaz sought. He raised up a high-powered Taser. "A great injustice was done to me because of you, Amethyst," Topaz informed. "You only brought this upon yourself."

"I- I had no idea…" Amethyst began. "It was supposed to be a harmless joke…"

"Harmless?" Topaz sighed. "Suit yourself." Topaz brought the electroshock weapon into contact with Amethyst's round belly and activated the Taser. High-voltage currents instantly began flowing through Amethyst's body, sending her muscles into spasms and frying her like a filet of fish sticks. The electricity also interacted with the Gem that she bore on her chest, and the ensuing reaction soon shrouded the high-voltage scene with a massive ball of electrical energy. Eventually, the potential energy within the ball was released in a massive explosion. Topaz was sent flying across the room and landing hard against the wall. Unaffected by the explosion, he thrust himself up and found Amethyst laying on the floor, sparks sputtering from her Gem. She tried and failed to get up, and Topaz picked her up and held her against the wall. Using his voice command, Topaz once again activated the manacles, holding Amethyst in place. Topaz then picked up his right hand and shape shifted the hand into Amethyst's own, and reached within the depths of her Gem, removing her long, Gem-laced whip. He then stepped back and snapped the whip at Amethyst's Gem, partially cracking it and making a small crevice through which Topaz wrapped the whip around the Gem. He then began pulling on the Gem, as the helpless Amethyst quickly began howling in pain. The Gem cracked further as Topaz tugged harder, it having been damaged by the initial whip snap, and finally broke off the skin in two pieces. Topaz gathered the two pieces from the floor, then turned his attention to Amethyst, who had remained conscious throughout the removal and was now crying. Topaz simply left Amethyst in her sorry state and turned his attention to Garnet, releasing her from her chamber.

Garnet wasted no time in starting an offense against Topaz, charging towards him as Topaz waited, wearing a smirk underneath his black helmet. Garnet swooped down on Topaz to strike, but Topaz countered, and when Topaz attempted an offense, it was rebuked by Garnet. This was how the fight unfolded: as one long, flowing chain of attacks; neither one truly ahead of the other. Both fighters wearied from the long battle, and Topaz especially began to let up on his offense, only countering enough to fend off the previous attack. But Garnet was just as winded, and eventually, both retreated to opposite sides of the room for simply some breathing room. As Topaz breathed heavily, he looked over and watched Garnet, panting heavily- completely unprepared for an attack. From somewhere within, a second wind blew in Topaz's body, and he raised up the Gem on his right hand and discharged a blast from his Gem. The blast hit Garnet, who had not expected Topaz to strike, head-on and knocked her to the ground. Before she could gather her senses, Topaz struck again, picking her up and smashing her against the wall multiple times before finally tossing her backward. Garnet began to arise from the assault, but Topaz refused to give her that chance. He sprang towards her and tore the iron gauntlets off her hands, revealing Garnet's two Gems. Topaz grabbed Garnet's hands and the two wrestled with each other for a short time, until Topaz smiled.

"You lose," he taunted. Garnet then noticed two large green bubbles emitting from his hands, which then exploded. Topaz was sent flying a short ways, but he was otherwise not harmed; in addition, Garnet's gems had been removed, and Topaz caught the glimmering garnets as gravity retook control over them. Topaz then looked over at Amethyst, who had managed to cry herself to sleep during his struggle with Garnet, and gathered the unconscious bodies. As Topaz pondered over Steven's future arrival, an idea came to mind. He beamed wickedly. "Wait 'till Steven sees this…"


	16. An Offer He Could Refuse

Having prepared Steven his nice surprise, Topaz waited for his arrival, which came within several minutes. Topaz smiled at the youth from the raised section above him as he quickly entered the room.

"Steven, you missed the party," Topaz informed with a disappointed tone.

"Where are they," Steven asked. Topaz held up his right hand and snapped his fingers, and a spotlight came on, showing an unconscious Garnet dangling from the ceiling, chained up by her wrists.

"They," Topaz sang, in a voice very much like Garnet's. Keeping his right hand in the air, he now raised his left hand and snapped his fingers again, and a second spotlight shined to reveal a strung-up Amethyst, also unconscious and hanging precariously. "Are…" Topaz voice changed to mimic Amethyst's own. He then swooped his arms down and raised them vertically to activate a third spotlight, which showed Pearl tied up just as her teammates were. "The Crystal Gems!" Topaz finished in his own voice. "It certainly wasn't easy; your friends put up a hell of a fight." Topaz held out their Gems. "Still, I got what I wanted." Steven stared up at the three bodies- and suddenly noticed that, where their Gems were located before, there were now pieces of bronze grafted to their skin. As a horrified Steven stared up at Topaz's handiwork, the horrid man continued. "Now Steven, I know you were just a baby when this all happened, and there was nothing you could do to change any of these events. Still…" Topaz sighed and pointed at Steven. "I need your Gem." Steven lifted his shirt and stared down at his Gem, then up at Topaz again. "I'm going to have to remove that Gem of yours. What I need is your cooperation to do this. I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to. Do I have your cooperation?" Steven looked again at the fate of his friends, and was conflicted; if the Crystal Gems, three of the most powerful forces in the universe, could not defeat Topaz, then how would he? At the same time, they had gone down fighting; they had been defeated in honor, so to say. "Steven, it's a yes or no question, it shouldn't take this long for you to decide. Do you want me to hurt you, or not?" As Topaz spoke, a feeling of resentment rose up in Steven. Who was this man, he thought, to count him out so quickly? Steven then took another glance upward at the fate of the other Gems, and even though he knew of Topaz's reasoning for this horrendous violence against them, he also knew that Topaz had gone too far; to quote Garnet, he must be stopped. Topaz descended to the lower level of the room and approached him. "Steven, I don't know why it's taking you so long to decide. You can't beat me; I mean, look at your friends, they couldn't." Topaz lowered himself onto one knee. "So, what's it gonna be, boy? Yes, or no?" By now, an overwhelming feeling of anger towards Topaz had been rising from within Steven, but this new statement set him off. He closed his hand into a fist, reared his arm back and, with as much force as he could, punched Topaz.

The fist failed to do much. Topaz stared at Steven for a time with the most disappointed look, then grabbed Steven by his shirt. Rising to his feet, he tossed Steven across the room, the chubby youth landing against the wall.

"You are a nuisance, Steven," Topaz began. "Do you really want to suffer that much?" Topaz walked toward Steven, who got to his feet.

"Hey Topaz, what's that behind you?" Topaz turned around, giving Steven enough time to squeeze into a nearby ventilation shaft.

"I don't see anything…" Topaz turned back around to find Steven gone. "Steven, where'd you go? Steven?! STEVEN?!"


	17. Believe In Steven

The ventilation shaft was extremely cramped and very difficult for Steven to traverse, but he managed, somehow. Slowly, he inched through the dark shaft, and eventually reached a wider, and rather cold, portion- housing a dead end. Steven stopped and moved himself against the wall, and, extremely tired and panting heavily, he rested. Just outside of this stood Topaz, who was still trying to get over the shock that he had been fooled by a chubby twelve-year-old. The exhausted Steven glanced down towards his feet- and saw a Cookie Cat bar! However it had gotten down here was not important; Steven eagerly picked up the ice-cream bar, still wrapped, and reminisced on the wonderful gift of the interstellar feline, who had left his own kin behind, who had gone out of business some time ago, but Steven chose to suspend his disbelief for the matter. He tore open the wrapping, and the bar was amazing still frozen; he closed his eyes and took a bite out of the Cookie Cat. Outside, Topaz had refocused himself and began searching for the lad. He activated his Gem signal tracker and, tracing Steven's location to the small room within the shaft, he moved toward the hiding place. Inside, as Steven munched joyfully on the wonderfully crafted confectionary, his Gem began to let out a rose-colored glow. Even as the glow intensified, Steven's mind was on his tasty reunion rather than on his belly button. When he did open his eyes to stare into the hypnotic gaze of the ice-cream bar, Steven saw an object out of the corner of his eye, and he looked down. While his Gem was no longer glowing, a shield had now emerged from the divine device. The boy remembered this shield from a prior time involving a Centipeedle mother and Steven's misguided belief that he gained Gem abilities from eating ice cream. But here it was, again summoned through Cookie Cats. For the moment, Steven shelved his interest in Cookie Cats, putting the ice cream to his side and grabbing the shield. Topaz, reaching the alcove, raised his right hand up into the air, charged the attached Gem into a large green bubble, and forced his arm through the wall. The surprised Steven, frightened by the sight of an arm penetrating the wall, cowered behind his shield, just as Topaz detonated the bubble. Steven suffered no harm as a result, and scrambled to escape the tunnel as the dust cleared, but the cramped space would not allow the shield to fit, so Steven had to leave it behind. The wall that separated Steven and Topaz had not been destroyed, and Topaz felt his arm around for Steven, grabbing the first thing he felt and removing it from the wall. In his hands lay Steven's shield.

"A shield…" Topaz examined the shield for a short time, then scowled angrily at the weapon. "Just like Rosie Quartz!" He violently threw the shield on the ground, only to have it bounce back up at him and impale his helmet. Topaz stumbled backwards as Steven tried to squeeze himself out of the vent. Regaining his footing, Topaz removed the shield from his helmet and angrily tore the shield in half, which dissipated in his hands. Meanwhile, Steven had finally managed to escape the ventilation shaft, and dashed towards the opposite vent, but an angry Topaz turned around. "STEVEN!" He aimed his Gem towards Steven and fired, but Steven ducked into the next vent before the blast reached him. Frustrated, Topaz attempted to reactivate his signal tracker, but the technology was now useless; it had been designed to work with his helmet, which Steven's shield had broken. Topaz took his useless helmet off, tossed it away, and continued his search for Steven.

Steven moved quickly inside the much-wider shaft, and emerged at the other end in a short time. While Topaz's back was turned from across the room, Steven frantically looked around for some way to defend himself, his eyes set themselves on the… Laser Light Cannon?! No, it couldn't be; the Cannon was in his dad's U-Store- or was it? Steven ducked behind the cylindrical device, and Topaz turned around to find Steven clinging to the powerful device. He began to walk towards Steven.

"Steven, you don't know how to use that! Only two people ever knew how: me and Rosie!"

"How do you-"

"BECAUSE I BUILT IT!" Topaz raised his weapon and discharged two blasts, but they both missed Steven. "And it rightfully belongs to me, so I took it back!" Topaz continued his approach as Steven frantically tried to remember what had activated the machine the first time he had used it. "Oh, it will be a sad day when Greg catches sight of his son after I'm done with him…" As Steven pondered over his dad, he suddenly remembered what Greg had always said.

"That's it! If every pork-chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs!" Topaz stopped in his tracks and tried to comprehend what Steven had just said, but he quickly found out as a red aura surrounded the weapon and the metal on top bent into the shape of a rose. The vertically-aimed cannon collapsed and pointed right at the wicked man himself, who was in absolute shock. He clutched his chest and began to slowly back away.

"Now, Steven, don't do this," Topaz nervously begged, now at the mercy of Steven. "We could talk this out, Steven, don't do this…" Steven was undeterred by Topaz's pleading, and somehow, watching this man, the man who had caused the Crystal Gems so much pain, beg for his life brought out all of Steven's accumulated anger towards Topaz. At a certain point, Topaz stopped walking backwards, perhaps accepting his fate? He had no idea.

The Cannon fired. To Topaz, everything seemed to move in slow motion. He stood and watched as the light beam shape shifted into the figure of a rose, then as Rose's figure burst out of it. Topaz stared into her eyes, her glowing, furious eyes which were no doubt staring at him. But she was still beautiful, and Topaz still loved her, even if she would never love him again. He closed his eyes, his inner self at peace, and waited. Then everything went dark.


	18. The Final Insult

Steven stood panting, his trembling arms still supporting the nozzle of the cannon, as the dust settled. The base had quaked from the force of the collision, and Steven could faintly see Topaz's figure pressed against the wall. Was he dead? Steven debated the thought in his head as he continued to stare at the unmoving body of that wicked man. He certainly looked dead; his power suit was in shambles, and his skin was covered in cuts and bruises and he looked as if he had been the victim of a tiger attack. The Cannon now deactivated, reverting to its original form, and Steven let his arms go limb, still staring at Topaz. Eventually, after a long time of no movement, Steven deemed that Topaz posed no further threat. He turned and walked towards his friends, still hanging from the ceiling, and began to ponder how he would get them down from their precarious position, when an ear-splitting alarm pierced his eardrum. Steven recoiled and raised his hands up to cover his ears, and as he tried to block out the deafening noise of the alarm, the entire volcano began to quake. Steven glanced to his left- and took a double take. There was a crumbled pile of rocks on the ground, and a lever which was not there before had been pulled down. Topaz's hand rested on the lever, and Steven ran over to him as his arm dropped from the lever.

"What have you done?!" Steven shouted over the obnoxiously loud alarm, and Topaz looked up at him.

"Is there no prize… for second place?" Topaz was obviously in pain, barely able to speak over the siren. His head went limp and his gaze fell to the keyboard on his wrist. He pressed a button on the keyboard, and a trap door opened from beneath Steven's feet, sending him down the shaft below. As the quaking continued, the various rooms within the base began to collapse, and the chains holding the Gems in this room broke free from the rock that held them, sends the Gems plummeting to the ground. As Pearl came to, she frantically began to look around for Steven, and Topaz noticed this.

"Don't bother, he's gone already," Topaz hollered. As Garnet and Amethyst came to, Pearl ran over to Topaz.

"Where is Steven?!" Pearl shouted, both in frustration and in speaking over the loud noise.

"He's safe this time… It's us that need saving now." Topaz paused, and Pearl began to walk away. "I just want you to know…" Pearl turned around. "The next time you see…her." Topaz nodded his head upward. "Tell her…that I'm...sorry." With those words, Topaz fell into unconsciousness, and Pearl realized their fate. As Garnet and Amethyst began to recall the details surrounding Topaz's plot, Pearl told them of what Topaz had said.

"But, he can't-" Amethyst had begun to speak when she noticed something unusual on her chest. She looked up at Pearl and saw her forehead, and she knew. The other Gems stared at her horrified expression, and when Garnet caught a glimpse of Amethyst's Gem, she looked at her own Gem, and knew the secret. While Garnet and Pearl stood in silence, Amethyst looked over at Topaz and knew that she had brought a great injustice to him, and that ultimately, thanks to her actions, they would now all suffer. Amethyst ran over to Topaz's unconscious body and hugged him. She wept and continued to clutch Topaz tightly as Garnet and Pearl looked on at the sad scene; this was how the Crystal Gems spent those last moments. Eventually, the flooring cracked, and then fell apart, sending all four Gems down into the abyss below.

As for Steven, he went down the chute in complete darkness, not having any idea where he was, and after a short ride he came out on the outside of Topaz's lair. Large rocks were tumbling off the volcano form all around him, and realizing this, he jumped to his feet and ran for his life. He jumped inside the Gem ship and cowered inside as the volcano collapsed, imploding with a massive _boom!_ Steven continued to cower as the dust settled.


	19. In Memoriam of the Crystal Gems

Eventually, Steven could not stand to hide within the ship anymore; his anxiety plagued him too much. The lad inched his way out of the boat and stared up at the volcano, or the rubble that was formerly it. Step by step, Steven inched his way through the organized mess, stopping when he saw a body crushed underneath a large rock. Steven raced over to see who this person was, but it wasn't anyone Steven recognized, so he moved on. Eventually he reached a large pile of rocks and saw a disturbing sign on the ground. A pair of broken sunglasses, a pair of silver sunglasses. Steven picked up the broken thing; a pair of Garnet's sunglasses. Panicking thoughts ran through Steven's cranium, and he raced through the rubble. Steven was able to reach a foot after completely exhausting his panicked second wind. He removed the body from the rubble; it was that of Garnet.

"Garnet!" Steven shouted. No answer. "Garnet, wake up!" Steven shook her body to no avail. "Garnet!" Still no response. "Garnet!" Just as before. Steven kept yelling 'Garnet!' over and over to no response, losing hope after every failure. After some time of this, Steven collapsed onto Garnet's chest. "Don't do this to me, Garnet," he whispered weakly, on the verge of tears. He laid his ear on her heart, and listened for a heartbeat, but there was none. Steven was finished; he clutched Garnet and cried into her chest. Though he knew that Amethyst and Pearl were somewhere in the rubble, he didn't bother to look at them; he knew what had happened to them, so he wept for them, too. And for Topaz there would be no weeping, for no one mourns the wicked.

* * *

Three hours had passed. Steven had cried himself to sleep and was now deep in a dreamless slumber. A figure approached him, a heavenly figure clad in white, and gently removed Steven from the sands on which he slept. He remained asleep as the figure brought him to the Gem ship and placed him delicately inside. This person shoved the ship onto the water and pushed it out towards the shores of Beach City.

"Goodbye." The figure waved and watched as the ship floated away.


	20. The Other 41 Days

A jolt ran through Steven's body. He looked up and saw that he was inside the Gem boat; how he had gotten there he did not know. Steven got out of the boat, which had grounded on land, and realized that he had returned to the shores of Beach City. It took him a moment to clear his head and remember what had happened, but he did, and he was mournful once again. He first returned to the Crystal Temple and gathered his things. By now Greg had returned to It's A Wash, and that was where he went next. He told his dad the story of what Topaz had done, and he cried to recall the incident. Greg did his best to comfort Steven, but it did little to improve his mood.

Over the next six weeks, word gradually spread through Beach City of Steven's sad story. Comfort came from throughout the city; even Lars was kind to the poor lad. The Coast Guard sailed out and found the bodies of the Gems, and they were given a proper memorial service. Still, none of these things could rid Steven of his depression. One day, six weeks later, Steven went for a walk. He had passed the Big Donut and the Beach Citywalk Fries, and stopped in front of the Crystal Temple to reminisce on the fateful events of the prior six weeks.

* * *

Steven picked his head up, and took another glance at the Crystal Temple. He took one last moment to remember Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl- three people that he knew he would never see again. He turned around, and continued his walk. But where would he go now? He had no idea.

* * *

**The End **


End file.
